


endure and survive

by dryadfiona



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, Pining, basically a "joel realizes dina has feelings for ellie" fic, but like. they're all out and everything. it's just fluff folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-21 17:31:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18707038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dryadfiona/pseuds/dryadfiona
Summary: You drag your eyes away from Ellie only to realize that a) you have a dopey smile on your face and have for several minutes and b) that Joel is looking at you like he Knows.





	endure and survive

Joel comes back from some run with a comic, and Ellie, despite being almost 19 years old, takes it from him and  _runs_ to her room, grabbing your hand and dragging you along.

"Thanks, Joel!" she calls back. He just sighs, which you think is fair.

"Wow, you  _really_ love this comic, huh, Ellie?" you say once she finally lets go of your hand to jump onto her bed and start reading the comic. "Also scoot over, I wanna read it too, asshole."

She does, but then elbows you a bit when you try to take up more space than she offers. You compromise by leaning your head on her shoulder. It's a better angle from here anyway.

Ellie doesn't say anything at that, but she doesn't elbow you either. Victory.

The comic's not nearly as good as the first issues were, in  _your_ opinion, but your best friend is absolutely enraptured. Like, literally, a clicker could burst in the room and it'd take her a second to realize it.  _Not that it would_ , you think, trying to calm your breathing a bit.

"Hey, Dina," Ellie says. "You're here in the compound. You're okay, you're safe here. And besides, nothing's gonna get you while I'm here anyway." She doesn't grab your hand this time, but reaches hers out. You hold her hand, muttering something about how she's a sap or something, but you can't ignore how reassuring it is.

After a couple minutes, you groan. "Sorry to interrupt. Just, uh. You know." It'll never cease to annoy you how quickly anxiety comes up out of absolutely nowhere, but it's nice to have someone who doesn't judge you for it.  _Not that she would,_ you think, and move a little closer.

Ellie still doesn't say anything, but she doesn't let go of your hand this time.

The comic is passable at best. You hold back on your usual snark about it, though. After a few more pages of bland writing, you stop paying attention to it, focusing on your friend's face.

"...what are you looking at?" Ellie says after a few more pages.

"You," you say calmly.

Your friend shifts a bit, not  _uncomfortable,_ but shy (you're pretty sure). "Why?"

You sigh. "The comic just isn't that good."

Ellie laughs and shoves you away. You catch yourself before you fall off the bed, but you're laughing too. "It's so easy to annoy you, Ellie."

"Whatever," Ellie says. "If I was trying, I'd rile you up so fast."

Your face is suddenly very, very warm.

-

You're having dinner with Ellie and Joel for the third time this week, just because, and while the food is honestly better than you ever get at your own place because Joel can cook, you're having trouble eating it.

Ever since this morning, you're having trouble focusing on or doing  _anything._ You're not even sure why, Ellie says shit like that all the time, but it's sticking with you today.

She's telling Joel about the comic to his clear bemusement, shoveling food in her face all the while. When you first met her, you were almost astounded at how quickly she ate, but now that you know what her life was like in the year leading up to her staying in the compound, you can't fault her for it.

(You remember on one of your shifts together outside the wall, Ellie kept you calm by quietly telling you what plants near you are safe to eat, how to track prey animals, where to find shelter. You remember absolutely none of it, but that was never the point--just to hear someone there with you who cared enough do what they could to help...helped.)

"So, uh. A good comic, then?"

"Yes," Ellie says at the same time that you say, "Meh."

Ellie flings some of her potatoes at you. You try to catch it in your mouth and get smacked right in the eye.

"Shit, sorry," she says as Joel chuckles. (For him, that's uproarious laughter.) Ellie runs and grabs a rag or something and wipes the potatoes off your eye, but she has her hand on the side of your face as she does it, and you are completely frozen.

You can't see what's going on (food in your eye will do that to you), but she's surprisingly gentle about it. You've always known Ellie to be a really sweet and kind person, but feeling the same person you've seen decapitate a clicker with a machete gently holding your face still so she can help is...striking.

"Are you feeling alright?" Ellie asks. "Your face is kind of warm."

The potatoes are off your face now, you realize with a start, and open your eyes. "Uh, a little under the weather. Probably a cold."

"Okay," Ellie says, looking a little confused, and sits back down. She resumes her infodumping about the comic again, and you've all but given up on your meal at this point, looking at your friend affectionately. She noticed things you didn't, which you would never admit, but you kind of want to reread it to see all of what she's talking about. That's something that she's always done well--cared so much about things you're able to find what you love about it in ways you never would've without her.

You drag your eyes away from Ellie only to realize that a) you have a dopey smile on your face and have for several minutes and b) that Joel is looking at you like he Knows.

_Shit._

-

"So," Joel says when you're helping him with the dishes and Ellie's patrolling the wall to make sure there's no holes or weak spots.

"So what?" you ask, as if your heart isn't beating a million times a minute.

"Listen, kid," Joel says, as if you're not an adult, technically, "I know you and Ellie have been friends for a long time."

"She's my best friend," you say, scrubbing at a particularly stubborn bit of food on one of the plates. "Why do you bring it up?"

"Dina," Joel says, and you put the plate back down in the sink and sigh. "I'm not stupid."

"I know," you say, a little more frustrated than you'd like to sound. "I just--I don't know what I'm doing either."

Joel chuckles. "Well, that's normal, under the circumstances."

"What should I do?" you ask, as if asking your best friend's dad (basically) how to act after realizing you like his daughter is a normal thing to do.

"Can't tell you what to do, kid, you gotta decide for yourself. If you know you like her, go for it. If not, though--wait."

"Wait?"

"She's been through a lot," Joel says conversationally, but he's more serious now. "I don't want to see her hurt."

"Neither do I," you say. "I wouldn't--I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. You know that."

"I do," he says, and smiles at you. "Don't wanna see you hurt either, kid. Take your time--there's no rush."

You turn back to the dishes. You don't think you're going to do--well, anything at all for awhile, but. There's no rush, is there? You have all the time in the world.


End file.
